Roy Keane believes Morgan Rogers’ performance in England’s 5-0 demolition of Serbia has given manager Thomas Tuchel a welcome selection dilemma as the Three Lions continue their World Cup qualifying campaign.
England were missing key names in Belgrade, with Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka all absent from October’s squad.
It gave fringe players a chance to step forward, and Rogers seized his opportunity in only his third senior start.
The Aston Villa midfielder, deployed in the No 10 role, produced a series of sharp turns, clever flicks and driving runs.
Roy Keane believes Morgan Rogers’ performance in England’s 5-0 demolition of Serbia has given manager Thomas Tuchel a welcome selection dilemma as the Three Lions continue their World Cup qualifying campaign
|PA/ITV
His link-up play was capped with an assist for Noni Madueke’s first England goal as Tuchel’s side delivered their most fluent display of the break.
Harry Kane opened the scoring with a trademark header before Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and Madueke all struck their first international goals.
Marcus Rashford added a late penalty to complete the rout, but much of the post-match focus turned to Rogers’ contribution.
“What he does is give the manager a problem and a brilliant option,” Keane told ITV.
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“When you get an opportunity and you perform like that, you’re sending a message to the manager that you’re going to find it hard to leave me out, and that is all these players can do.”
Keane even drew comparisons with one of England’s most mercurial talents.
“When he gets in a tight area and gets away, he reminds me of Gazza [Paul Gascoigne],” he said.
“He just has that thing where you think you’ve got him and then he gets away from you. Just little moments there, he reminds me of Gazza.”
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England star Morgan Rogers was outstanding against Serbia on Tuesday night
|PA
Ian Wright echoed the sentiment, praising Rogers’ versatility in attacking areas.
“He’s got an assuredness and quality to him to play with his back to goal when the ball comes into him, or if he gets the ball and he’s running at you he’s going past you,” stated the Arsenal icon.
“When you play in that No 10 space, you have to be able to get the ball with your back to goal, turn quickly, get it on the half-turn and make things happen, and that’s what he does.”
Tuchel, meanwhile, was delighted with his side’s performance but challenged his squad to make Tuesday’s intensity the standard.
“I’m more than happy for the team and staff,” the England manager said.
“We had an excellent week from start to finish. We just proved what I’ve seen every day in this camp and this makes me very happy.
“We played with a lot of intensity, a lot of teamwork and we showed our quality.
"We kept Serbia to no shots on target and you have to put in a lot of work to do that, a lot of intensity and the invisible work that you do not get praise for. The players did excellent – that’s the bar.”
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England beat Serbia 5-0 on Tuesday night to maintain their 100 per cent World Cup qualifying record
|PA
The result extended England’s unbeaten qualifying run and underlined the depth of Tuchel’s attacking options.
For Rogers, it may also have marked the night he transformed from fringe squad member to genuine contender as next summer's World Cup creeps closer.